ITAL 261 - Performance and Politics in 1970s Italy

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

(Same as DRAM 261 and WFQS 261) What makes theatre an effective (or ineffective) vehicle for radical politics? How and why is Italy a valuable case study to consider the relationship between political activity and performance practice, particularly in light of post-1968 social ferment and during the politically explosive (and notoriously violent) 1970s? In this course, we look at plays and performance projects by artists like Dario Fo, Franca Rame, Dacia maraini, Mario Mieli, and numerous theatre collectives operating across the peninsula, as well as culutural theorists that may include Antonio Gramsci, Umberto Eco, Walter Benjamin, and Bertolt Brecht. In light of a historical moment that saw unprecedented worker and students protests and occupation of factories and universities, we consider how performance moved out of the theatre and redifined its goals and boundaries. We also devote particular attention to how feminist and queer theatre-makers critiqued institutional power and re-imagined art, society, and revolutio. This course investigates key concepts, texts, and artists involved in the theatre communities in 1970s Italy, their visions of politics and revolution, their artistic strategies, and their lasting resonance and influence on contemporary practice and aesthetics. Emily Antenucci.

Two 75-minute periods.

Course Format: CLS